PHE publish pharmacy briefing on addressing health inequalities

Public Health England (PHE) has produced a briefing highlighting the unique role that pharmacy teams can play in helping to address health inequalities.

The briefing, ‘Pharmacy teams seizing opportunities for addresssing health inequalities’ sets out suggestions on how to make the most of pharmacy teams’ potential to work with local community and faith leaders, reach out to under-served communities and those with the poorest health outcomes, and to take on a health inequalities leadership role. It also sets out recommendations for system leaders, commissioners and community pharmacy teams themselves.

Community pharmacy contractors who are planning on working towards achieving the Addressing unwarranted variation in care Domain of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme, which has a quality criterion on health inequalities may find the Briefing useful as it supports the work, they are required to complete to meet the requirements of the Domain. Pharmacy PCN Leads may find the Briefing useful as a tool to engage with their PCN Clinical Director as community pharmacies may be able to support the PCN’s work on health inequalities and LPCs may also want to consider sharing it with commissioners to aid discussions on the development of locally commissioned services that utilise the role of community pharmacies in addressing health inequalities.